


While It Was Raining

by Licy4



Category: Mum (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-20
Updated: 2019-06-02
Packaged: 2020-03-08 12:16:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18894457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Licy4/pseuds/Licy4
Summary: *Updated with chapter 2, mainly featuring unapologetic fluff**Spoilers until the end of series 3, episode 5* (Although if you haven't binged the entire series multiple times already, whilst I admire your willpower, you need to. Right now.)Just what happened to turn the way they were on Friday night into the way they were on Saturday morning.





	1. Chapter 1

The rain continued to pummel the lead-crossed windows of the country mansion, trapping the extended family in the brick prison. Their plans to visit a local castle seemed entirely off the table now. 

Try as she might, Cathy couldn’t focus on her book. The room was calm – the family was chatting quietly, the TV chirping with the sound of afternoon quiz shows, Kelly’s phone buzzing on the arm of the sofa with incoming WhatsApp messages – and yet she’d read the same page at least five times now. Although it could have been much longer, in reality it was probably only about fifteen minutes since she’d returned from the kitchen. A little less since she’d silently communicated to Michael that the deed was done, their ability to read each other’s minds come in handy once again. 

Jason still hadn’t made his way back into the room and she hadn’t seen him heading upstairs, so she assumed he was still in the kitchen. She was surprised that she had no desire to go to him, no pull to comfort him or apologise. For once, she was standing her ground, albeit quietly. 

Instead, the only person she wanted to see was Michael. The look on his face when he realised what she was telling him would stay with her for a long time. It sent her stomach into freefall, once again reminding her of the depth of their feelings for each other. It occurred to her, slowly, that there was now no need to creep around, no need to pretend they weren’t spending time together and that if she wanted to see Michael, she could just go and see him. 

Closing the book, she dropped down from the window seat and padded her way across the room. 

“Where are you off to, Cath?” Derek asked, just as she got to the doorway. 

She turned, “I’m just going for a wee.” She winced to herself. Baby steps. 

Appeased by the answer, Derek lost interest and Cathy took the opportunity to dart from the room and up the stairs before anyone else could speak. Michael’s bedroom door was closed and she briefly considered aborting her mission to give him space. But her aching heart wouldn’t allow her to turn back now. 

It took a few moments after her knock, but eventually the bedroom door opened slowly. He seemed to anticipate that it would be her and immediately stepped back to allow her wordlessly into the room. She moved to stand near the window, suddenly nervous, and waited for him to close the door, erecting a boundary between them and the world. 

He looked at her, maintaining a safe distance across the room, “You told him?”

She nodded, unable to keep the smile from her face. His whole body seemed to exhale.

“What did he say?”

“He didn’t say anything.”

He frowned at this response, a feeling of uncertainty washing over him, “And you’re ok with that?”

She shrugged, “It’s up to him now.”

“Cathy…” he began, knowing she couldn’t really be so blasé about her son’s feelings. 

“Michael, we’re not doing anything wrong. Jason needs to get used to it.”

They stood in silence, each digesting the new situation. The confidence in her eyes, the surety with which she spoke, gave Michael hope to believe. 

“I remember that night,” she said eventually, lightening the tone and moving to perch on the edge of the bed, “In the pub. I was in such a mood.”

“I know. You kept snapping at Dave. You were upset because you’d stormed out the house before you had time to put make-up on,” he chuckled to himself, before his expression changed to one of sincerity, “You were the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.”

“Oh Michael.”

He smiled at her, “You still are.”

Tears threatened to spill from her eyes, but she worked hard to hold them back. As if his words weren’t beautiful enough, the raw emotion in his voice conveyed so much truth and love. She found herself unable to speak, instead cocking her head to indicate her should join her on the bed. 

“Your hair was all coming out of the…thing…whatever,” he continued, indicating the top of her head as he took a seat, “And there was this one little bit that kept falling in front of your eyes. You were getting really cross with it. I was so desperate to tuck it out the way for you.” As he lost himself in the memory his eyes focussed on her hair, his thoughts transporting him 40 years into the past, fingers once again itching to move. She couldn’t help but be entranced by him and his gentle, besotted expression. Her hand found his where it rested on the bed between them and the action seemed to bring him back to the present. 

“Sorry,” he muttered, looking away self-consciously.

“You don’t have to be sorry, Michael. Not for anything. You are perfect. You are incredible,” she breathed, “I love you.”

“You don’t have to say that just because…”

She put a finger to his lips, “I love you.” Her tone implied there was to be no further argument and he didn’t offer any, allowing the words to roll around in his brain, committing the sound of her saying them to memory to be treasured forever. 

Her finger had moved from his lips to trace the lines of his face. She knew them all, she’d watched them develop over the years. Some had come from the frustration of losing his girls when Abi took them to Spain, some from the pain of losing other loved ones to more permanent destinations. And now she suspected she may be the cause of some of them. As her fingers rounded the curve of his forehead, she knew she wouldn’t change a single one, not a single part of what made him the way he was. 

“I love you,” she repeated, softly, as if confirming it to herself. 

Michael allowed her all the time she needed, knowing that in their relationship the unspoken was more meaningful than the spoken. She was his calm in a world of chaos, and he hers. Whenever she saw him, the very first conversation they had was always an update on the latest antics of her family, a run-down on the goings on so that he could be her partner in crime. After that, they needed very few words to communicate their shared understanding. He looked forward to it, being allowed into the secret club that no-one else was permitted to join, being the recipient of the sly look, the hidden smile, the eye roll. 

“I keep thinking I should go,” she began, breaking the revere, “and then I realise I don’t have to. I think they all know anyway.”

“Not quite as discreet as we thought,” he agreed. 

“Maybe it was our big, soppy grins,” she suggested, breaking one out as proof. 

His matched hers, “I can’t help it.”

“Me neither.”

He looked at her for a few moments, weighing up his next move. Every inch of his body was screaming out to touch her, but he knew they were in dangerous territory. The family knowing about them was one thing, but that didn’t mean they were ready for any sort of display of affection. Despite the privacy of the room, Michael knew that if he kissed her now he wouldn’t be able to stop, possibly for the rest of his life, to meet any sort of public level of decency. 

So he opted instead for what he’d once told Derek and Jason was his deepest desire – a cuddle. Manoeuvring himself fully onto the bed, his head resting on the headboard, he held out an arm to the woman in front of him. She happily snuggled up to his side, head resting on his chest, listening to the rhythmic heartbeat beneath. 

They lay together, laughing, reminiscing, planning for their future, but mostly, perfectly, in glorious silence. 

Downstairs, Derek looked around the room, “Cath’s been a while.”

Jason, now sharing Kelly’s blanket on the sofa, didn’t move his eyes from the TV, “She’s probably with Michael.”

“Oh yeah,” Derek replied, entirely non-plussed, “Of course she is.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I couldn't help myself!

Eventually the light from the window started to fade and they knew that they would soon have to face the rest of the world. And sure enough, it wasn't long before stomping footsteps could be heard on the stairs, along with Derek calling their names. Before they could move from their position on the bed, Derek was knocking on the door and had entered the room without waiting for a response. 

"Alright lovebirds," he greeted, laughing at himself, "We're ordering Chinese. Come on."

And just quickly as he'd arrived he was gone, leaving the couple frozen in his wake. 

"I guess we're going downstairs for Chinese," Michael commented, feeling it might be the safest part of the situation to focus on. 

She nodded, "I guess so."

He stood and offered a hand to help her off the bed. She was surprised and happy to notice he didn't immediately drop her hand once she was standing up. 

"How do you want to play this?" he asked. 

"Well, I don't think we should have sex on the dining table," she began, enjoying his shocked reaction. 

"Er, no…"

"But if they all know anyway, why should we pretend we're not together?"

"But Jason…"

"Knows. He knows. Me holding your hand isn't going to make him know any more."

"Come on Cath!" Derek called from downstairs, "Put him down! We're starving."

She leant up to drop an easy kiss on Michael's lips, "No shame, no guilt. We're done with that."

Taking charge, she led him from the room, down the stairs and into the kitchen where they found the rest of the family perusing the takeaway menu. 

"Choose," Pauline instructed, holding the menu in front of Cathy's nose. 

Dropping Michael's hand to take it, she turned to him, "Shall we just have our usual?"

He nodded and she moved round the island to add their order to the list Derek was making. Michael was aware of several pairs of eyes on him and desperately tried to think of something to say. 

"It's stopped raining," he settled on eventually, peering out the window.

And just like that the conversation moved on. No-one commented on their absence during the afternoon. No-one said anything when she rested a hand on his thigh at the dinner table once they'd all stuffed themselves silly with food. No-one batted an eyelid when her curled up legs rested across his lap while they watched Friday evening television. 

Cathy did note sly glances coming from her son and his girlfriend, but in completely different ways. Kelly kept looking over and smiling, as if she’d just watched a cute video on Facebook. Jason, however, was still throwing daggers at Michael whenever he thought no-one was watching. She shrugged them both off. Time would heal, as it always did. 

Late in the evening, it was just Cathy, Michael, Derek and Pauline left in the living room, Reg, Maureen, Kelly and Jason having long ago retired to their beds. 

On one sofa, Derek rubbed Pauline's feet as she persisted in her attempts to read her book. On the other, Cathy was stretched out, her back leaning against Michael's side, his arm tucked comfortably around her neck. 

Derek laughed heartily at the comedy on TV. Pauline pretended not to see it at all. Cathy and Michael were too preoccupied with the closeness of each other to follow the jokes. 

As the credits rolled on the programme, Derek reached out to flick the TV off, "I think I need to go to bed. Big day tomorrow."

Cathy shuffled in Michael's grip so she could see her brother, "Are you excited, love?" 

"Yeah, I can't wait for everyone to see this amazing house."

"And to see you," she reminded him. 

"Yeah, yeah. Course!" he laughed, unconvincingly. 

Pauline slammed her book shut, "Come on then. Let's go." She manoeuvred herself from the sofa, her warm cardigan wrapped rightly round her wispy frame.

"Night you two," Derek said, standing from his position, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Derek!" Pauline admonished as the couple disappeared out the living room. 

Cathy relaxed back into him as soon as they were alone, "That went well."

"Hmm," he agreed, dropping a kiss onto her hair, "Very well."

"Pretty good idea though, to go to bed," she continued. 

"I'll lock up the house," he volunteered, squeezing her shoulders briefly and then moving himself from the sofa. 

By the time he got back from performing his nightly ritual of making sure the house was secure, she was waiting at the bottom of the stairs for him with a glass of water each. 

"Thank you," he greeted, taking a glass from her. 

"Are we all safe?" she asked. 

"Yeah, yeah. I don't think anyone is going to steal Maureen from her bed."

"More’s the pity," she smiled, using her now free hand to run through his hair. As she did so, a yawn escaped from her mouth. 

"Come on, darlin. Time for bed." He gently guided her up the stairs towards her bedroom. As they reached the doorway, she headed straight into the room, flicking on the light switch and depositing her drink on the bedside table. He hovered in the doorway, unwilling to cross the threshold. 

She came back to join him, grasping the lapels of his shirt, "I'm so happy."

"Me too." He knew he looked like an idiot, grinning so hard his face felt like it might split in two, but he didn't care. Reaching out, he finally tucked that bit of hair behind her ear. 

"You know, I think that's your job forever now. You're on hair watch."

"Sounds good to me. What's the salary like?" 

"Oh, very reasonable,” she took the glass from his hand, resting it on the nearby chest of drawers, “And you get to sleep with the boss."

He slipped his arms round her waist, "I always insist on that perk.”

"Very good negotiating,” her arms found their way round his neck, guiding his face down to hers to claim his lips with her own. The kiss was intense, it was overwhelming, it got very passionate, very quickly. All of the hesitation, all of the uncertainty, was now gone. They knew they both wanted the same thing and that, more importantly, they could have it. Unfortunately, not with her entire family sleeping within a ten foot radius. 

“We can’t,” he panted, pulling away from her as he felt himself begin to lose the mental capacity to stop.

“We can’t,” she agreed, breathless, taking a step across the room. 

He looked at her with an expression that made every hair on her body stand on end, “But god I want to.”

She fought every urge to jump right back into his arms, “Me too.”

“I’m gonna go.” He took a deep breath and turned to head out of the room, hating it, but knowing it was the right thing to do. 

“Michael,” she called quietly, causing him to turn his head back to her.

There were a million things she wanted to say, a million things she wanted him to know. But of course she didn’t need to. He knew them all. He knew exactly how she felt about him, the same way she now knew exactly how he felt about her. Everything else, all other words, were unnecessary. 

She smiled, “I’ll see you in the morning.”


End file.
